Hi Kenneth, There are two different methods used to seal anodising after coloring. The Impregnation process doesn't fade and has a matt sheen/patina appearance. Versus hydration which is boiling or steaming and glossy in appearance. In case you wanted to anodise your stanchions and triples!
From what i've been told. All anodising will fade. As Paul says, the sealing method makes a difference as to how much/how quick it fades. The base material also influences the the longevity of the anodising. The best material for anodising is mechanicaly poorer and does not machine nicely. The material I use for the parts is an aircraft grade and so is strong and robust with a higher corrosion resistance. But unfortunately is not the best base material for anodising. To get the best out of the anodising the parts need to be etched in an acid bath. This will give a slight satin finish.
As you can see still a very nice deep red. Not sure if salt water is damaging to the finish, but shes been in the ocean.
I have axle kits that will be ready in under 2 weeks. Let me know if you are interested. I'm offering a small discount if you order now and pay up front. You could also request a different colour(within reason) other than red or blue if you get in early enough.
....re-viving this thread a bit I guess. May be buying a Terra soon. (I'm not one to jump straight into a modification unless I know all the deets, so forgive me)... (BTW, I've contacted Aquatic already about his parts). On the fork swap I have a couple questions: 1) What year model YZ forks should I be sourcing exactly? 2) How does this fork swap affect the sag and general geometry if you have the stock rear shock? (I'd be upgrading the shock at a later date).
Can't remember the year but I used yz426 forks and I think they only made it a few years. If you don't lower the forks you will obviously lifting the front end up almost 2 inches. As far as sag, i haven't really had a chance to reset my sag. I can tell you the rear shock is not capible of keeping up with what the forks are capible of. I would do the axle kit and put the stock wheel back on. Aquatic is the man. My bikes a rolling showroom of his parts. Top notch, and I can tell you he is an honest man who truly cares about his customers.
...so, what have you out there that have done the fork swap done about the shock? Replaced it? It seems like a just adequate unit, but upgrading the forks should be balanced out by doing something to the rear.
I love my YZ forks ( 2000 yz 426) and yes now you can tell that the rear is not up to the same standard . I moved the adjustment screw on the side of the shock several turns to the soft . This helped but I'm checking shock options.
Next Project KYB SSS closed cartridge fork conversion kit Front end and rear knuckle removed Neck bearings were absolutely fucked!! A bunch of measuring, design and machining to do. All the conversion parts need to be redesigned
First thing to do is fix the root of all the bearing evil. The hole in the spindle. Which ever engineer thought that was a good idea is a fickwit! Some 3M tape and problem sorted
Took a bit of effort but I managed to get the old bearing off without cutting it. I couldn't find any new seals, but the old ones are still in excellent condition so I'll reuse them New bearings - sourced locally High temp grease - because the oil is in the frame and the neck area can get quite hot greased up bearings In the press Lower bearing installed I didn't take any pictures, but the outer races were installed in the head. i used threaded rod and some made up spacers that fitted the races perfectly
I measured up the fork and and then redesigned the existing caliper hanger to suit the new dimensions I 3D printed the new caliper hanger to do the test fit Fits exactly as planned
Looking good so far. Next item of business is to redesign the suspension knuckle to raise the rear the same as the front I'm hoping to make an adjustable unit.
